Lamar to host McMurry for homecoming

Despite opening the Southland Conference 0-2, the Lamar Cardinals look to get back on track when they host McMurry University for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. at Provost Umphrey Stadium in non-conference action.

The Cards (2-4) are coming off a 30-23 road loss at Northwestern State while the War Hawks, a Division II school, are 3-2. Their losses have come to Abilene Christian (51-0) and McNeese State (69-7) while McMurry beat Wayland Baptist (76-13), Oklahoma Panhandle State (42-33) and Southern Nazarene University (22-19). The War Hawks are coached by former University of Kentucky head coach Hal Mumme.

A celebration of Cardinal camaraderie awaits Lamar University alumni as they will “get their red on” for an alumni tailgate party 5-6:30 p.m. on the porch of the Montagne Center. The Homecoming celebration precedes the 7 p.m. kickoff.

Lamar alumni will be admitted to the tailgate area for $5, payable at the gate, which will cover pork shanks, smoked boudin balls and Cajun drumsticks, plus two beverages, said Linda LeBlanc, director of alumni affairs.

Alumni may purchase Homecoming game tickets for half price, providing them with seating in any section. These tickets may be purchased online using the promotional code “getyourredon” (code is case sensitive), by calling (409) 880-1715 or visiting the LU ticket office in the Montagne Center in person. Alumni must mention the code “get your red on” when purchasing tickets in order to get the half-price rate.

Additional information is available at the LU Office of Alumni Affairs, (409) 880-8921 or Alumni [at] Lamar [dot] edu.

The Beaumont City Council issued a proclamation Oct. 9 to declare the week of Oct. 8-13 as the “Get Your Red On.” The council will join Beaumont residents and businesses in proclaiming their support for Lamar as the university “acknowledges and expresses appreciation to the many individuals, business owners, government leaders and alumni who have made the return of football successful and who are responsible for the community-wide show of Cardinal spirit and of support for its students on behalf of the ties that bind campus and community.”

Softball

The Lady Cards suffered their first setbacks of the fall exhibition season, dropping games to LSU-Eunice, Belhaven and LSU at the LSU Tournament last weekend in Baton Rouge.

The Lady Cardinals dropped a 6-5 decision to LSU Eunice, then lost 7-6 to Belhaven and were blanked 13-0 to LSU, a team that finished eighth at last year’s College Softball World Series.

“We were outworked all three games,” said LU head coach Holly Bruder. “I can handle lack of hitting and execution — those are things my coaching staff and I can fix. But I won’t accept the lack of work through seven innings and the lack of passion on every pitch.”

“We will step it up this week to get better,” she said. “I hope that my girls gain knowledge and experience from playing good teams and suffering through a tough weekend.”

Lamar traveled to Louisiana-Lafayette for an exhibition game at 1 p.m. on Oct. 13.

Soccer

Taylor Mitchell’s goal midway through the second half lifted LU past Southeastern Louisiana (7-6-1, 1-2-1) on Oct. 7 to help the Lady Cards improve to 6-7-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

LU returns home for a pair of SLC games beginning with Central Arkansas on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. and Northwestern State at 1 p.m. on Oct. 14.

Volleyball

The losing streak is now at five as the Lady Cards dropped two matches last weekend, losing at Oral Roberts, 3-0, and Central Arkansas, 3-0, to fall to 9-12 overall and 1-6 in SLC play.

LU’s next three matches are at home as they host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m., Sam Houston State on Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. and Nicholls State on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.

Men’s golf

The Cards placed ninth at the David Toms Intercollegiate on Oct. 9 in Baton Rouge. LU shot a three-round total of 100-over 964. Host and 16th ranked LSU won the nine-team tournament with an 897 total (+33).

Senior Erik Knudsen was the Cards’ top finisher as he tied for 31st with a 22-over 238. LSU’s Andrew Presley won individual medalist honors with a 4-over-par total of 220.

Other Cardinal golfers were junior Stephane Dubois (T39, 242), sophomore Gustaf Burenstam (T41, 243), freshman Greg Wiggins, who played in his first collegiate tournament and tied for 46th with a 245, and sophomore Luke Jerling tied for 49th with a 252.

The Cards next tournament will be the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate in Dallas beginning Oct. 29.

Tennis

Head coach Scott Shankles was pleased with his first-ever fall tournament at Thompson Family Tennis Center last weekend during the Cardinal Classic.

“It’s been a long three days, but I think we had a pretty good tournament,” Shankles said. “I think that these last two days especially have shown the type of team we have. This was a good step for us, and now we’ll spend the next two weeks getting ready for ITA Regionals.”

The Cardinals will return to action in two weeks at the ITA Regional Championships in Ft. Worth on Oct. 20.

The Lady Cards competed in the UL Invitational at Lafayette over the weekend as Alessandra Pennesi picked up a singles title in one of the flights by defeating Andriana Castillo of Southeastern Louisiana.

They will next compete Oct. 12-14 at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La.

Social media challenge

For the first time ever, Lamar University and McNeese State will do battle in a different way as the two schools continue their storied rivalry – a social media challenge.

The event is now underway and runs through Nov. 16, leading up to the football regular-season finale between the schools at McNeese State’s Cowboy Stadium on Nov. 17.

The challenge is designed to see which school can gain the most followers on Twitter and likes on Facebook during that time period. The winning school will receive, at the expense of the losing school, a pre-game party for the Boys & Girls Club prior to a Southland Conference basketball game in the spring.

While we harbor no disrespect for the Wall Street Journal who called us “that scrappy little paper from Southeast Texas,” we prefer to think of ourselves as simple seekers of the truth. We’re of the opinion that headlines and sound bites never tell the whole story. Our readers demand all the facts, facets and flavors of every story or event. And, they expect to be informed, educated and stirred to action.